The Bach Cello Suites

Author: Steven Isserlis
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 0571366260
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 163

Book Description
A unique Companion to J S Bach's iconic Cello Suites from internationally-renowned cellist Steven Isserlis. 'Isserlis is the master of the material, yet always able to make it accessible . . . It is an absolute treat to be led to this sublime music by such an ethusiastic expert.' MICHAEL PALIN 'The book I've always wanted: an accessible, eloquent guide to the world's greatest - and maybe most elusive - pieces of music. And written by the man I'd want to tell me about it. This is such a delight.' DERREN BROWN 'Illuminating.' OBSERVER 'Striking.' THE SPECTATOR Bach's six Cello Suites are among the most cherished of all the works in the classical music literature. Shrouded in mystery - they were largely unknown for some two hundred years after their composition - they have acquired a magical aura which continues to attract and fascinate audiences the world over. To cellists they represent a musical bible, to listeners, scarcely less. Through what are on the surface simple dance suites, Bach takes us on a spiritual journey like no other, leading us from joy to tragedy, concluding in jubilation, even triumph. Award-winning international cellist Steven Isserlis, whose recent recording of the Suites met with the highest critical acclaim, goes deep into that emotional journey, bringing to bear all his many years' experience of performing the Suites. His book is intended as a rewarding companion for all music lovers, ranging from the casual listener to the performing musician. By offering his own very personal observations of the music, Isserlis's aim is to take the reader further into the world of the Suites in order to enhance the experience of hearing some of the greatest works ever composed. Praise for Steven Isserlis' BACH: THE CELLO SUITES 'The most wonderful cello-playing, surely among the most consistently beautiful to have been heard in this demanding music.' GRAMOPHONE 'Isserlis has done the impossible. He has given the listener something new, and indeed something outstandingly good . . . This recording can sit proudly on the shelf alongside the great recordings of Casals and Rostropovich. In fact, I may find myself picking it up as the favourite.' BBC RADIO 3

Why Beethoven Threw the Stew

Author: Steven Isserlis
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 0571268676
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 166

Book Description
In Why Beethoven Threw the Stew, renowned cellist Steven Isserlis sets out to pass on to children a wonderful gift given to him by his own cello teacher - the chance to people his own world with the great composers by getting to know them as friends. Witty and informative at the same time, Isserlis introduces us to six of his favourite composers: the sublime genius Bach, the quicksilver Mozart, Beethoven with his gruff humour, the shy Schumann, the prickly Brahms and that extraordinary split personality, Stravinsky. Isserlis brings the composers alive in an irresistible manner that can't fail to catch the attention of any child whose ear has been caught by any of the music described, or anyone entering the world of classical music for the first time. The lively black and white line illustrations provide a perfect accompaniment to the text, and make this book attractive and accessible for children to enjoy on their own or share with an adult.

Robert Schumann's Advice to Young Musicians

Author: Robert Schumann
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022648288X
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 113

Book Description
The great composer’s “superb” advice on playing, practicing, composing, and being a musician, with additional comments by renowned cellist Steven Isserlis (Times Literary Supplement). If everybody were to play first violin, we could not have an orchestra. Originally published in1850, Advice to Young Musicians: Musical Rules for Home and in Life offered composer Robert Schumann’s combination of practical advice and poetic words of wisdom for young people beginning their musical education. Presented in aphorisms and short paragraphs, the book’s insights remain as valuable today as when they were written. Recognizing the continued resonance of Schumann’s words, world-renowned cellist Steven Isserlis, himself a writer of children’s books and many articles for young musicians, set out to rescue the work from history. Here, he revisits Schumann’s work and contributes his own contemporary counsel for musicians and music lovers. For this edition, Isserlis retranslated Schumann’s text and arranged it into four thematic sections: “On being a musician,” “Playing,” “Practicing,” and “Composing.” Each page is decoratively designed, and accompanying Schumann’s original quotations are Isserlis’s thoughtful and often humorous glosses. The book concludes with Isserlis’s own reflections on his life as a musician and performer: “My Own Bits of Advice (For What They’re Worth).” The result is a unique and thought-provoking book that will be treasured by aspiring musicians of any age.

Why Handel Waggled His Wig

Author: Steven Isserlis
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 0571268684
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Book Description
The eagerly awaited follow-up to the best-selling Why Beethoven Threw the Stew. What did Haydn's wife use for curling-paper for her hair? What did Schubert do with his old spectacles case? Why was Dvorák given a butcher's apron when he was a little boy? Why did Tchaikovsky spit on a map of Europe? Why did Fauré find a plate of spinach on his face? And why did Handel waggle his wig? In Why Beethoven Threw the Stew, renowned cellist Steven Isserlis set out to pass on to children a wonderful gift given to him by his own cello teacher - the chance to people his own world with the great composers by getting to know them as friends. In his new book he draws us irresistibly into the world of six more favourite composers, bringing them alive in a manner that cannot fail to catch the imagination of children encountering classical music for the first time. Once again the text is packed with facts, dates and anecdotes, interspersed with lively black-and-white line illustrations, making this an attractive and accessible read for children to enjoy on their own or share with an adult. 'If Why Beethoven Threw the Stew does not turn your child into a music lover, the chances are nothing will.' Daily Mail

1001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die

Author: Matthew Rye
Publisher: Chartwell Books
ISBN: 0785835822
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 963

Book Description
A thick and informative guide to the world of classical music and its stunning recordings, complete with images from CD cases, concert halls, and of the musicians themselves.

The Cello Suites

Author: Eric Siblin
Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
ISBN: 0802197973
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 328

Book Description
An award-winning journey through Johann Sebastian Bach’s six cello suites and the brilliant musician who revealed their lasting genius. One fateful evening, journalist and pop-music critic Eric Siblin attended a recital of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cello Suites—an experience that set him on an epic quest to uncover the mysterious history of the entrancing compositions and their miraculous reemergence nearly two hundred years later. In pursuit of his musicological obsession, Siblin would unravel three centuries of intrigue, politics, and passion. Winner of the Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-fiction and the McAuslan First Book Prize, The Cello Suites weaves together three dramatic narratives: the disappearance of Bach’s manuscript in the eighteenth century, Pablo Casals’s discovery and popularization of the music in Spain in the late nineteenth century, and Siblin’s infatuation with the suites in the present day. The search led Siblin to Barcelona, where Casals, just thirteen and in possession of his first cello, roamed the backstreets with his father in search of sheet music and found Bach’s lost suites tucked in a dark corner of a store. Casals played them every day for twelve years before finally performing them in public. Siblin sheds new light on the mysteries that continue to haunt this music more than 250 years after its composer’s death: Why did Bach compose the suites for the cello, then considered a lowly instrument? What happened to the original manuscript? A seamless blend of biography and music history, The Cello Suites is a true-life journey of discovery, fueled by the power of these musical masterpieces. “The ironies of artistic genius and public taste are subtly explored in this winding, entertaining tale of a musical masterpiece.” —Publishers Weekly “Siblin’s writing is most inspired when describing the life of Casals, showing a genuine affection for the cellist, who . . . used his instrument and the suites as weapons of protest and pleas for peace.” —Booklist, starred review

Gregor Piatigorsky

Author: Terry King
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786456264
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 369

Book Description
Forced to provide for his family from the age of 8 and thrown out of his home into a bitter Moscow winter at age 12, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky began his career as an archetypal struggling artist, using secondhand and borrowed instruments. When the October Revolution forced his escape to Warsaw, he enjoyed initial success with the Warsaw Philharmonic. Relocating to Berlin a few months later, he again struggled in poverty before eventually emerging as solo cellist with the Berlin Philharmonic. Settling in the United States during World II, Piatigorsky continued a brilliant career that cemented his place as one of the twentieth century's greatest musicians. This all-embracing chronicle of Piatigorsky's tempestuous life and career finally reveals the full life story of a musical legend.

The Book of Mother

Author: Violaine Huisman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1982108800
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Book Description
A New York Times Notable Book A Library Journal Best Book of 2021 A “marvelous…superbly effective” (The New Yorker) debut novel about a young woman coming of age with a dazzling yet damaged mother who lived and loved in extremes. Met by rave reviews in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and more, this stunning translation of Violaine Huisman’s “witty, immersive autofiction showcases a Parisian childhood with a charismatic, depressed parent” (Oprah Daily). Beautiful and magnetic, Catherine, a.k.a. “Maman,” smokes too much, drives too fast, laughs too hard, and loves too extravagantly, and her daughter Violaine wouldn’t have it any other way. But when Maman is hospitalized after a third divorce and a breakdown, everything changes. Even as Violaine and her sister long for their mother’s return, once she’s back Maman’s violent mood swings and flagrant disregard for personal boundaries soon turn their home into an emotional landmine. As the story of Catherine’s own traumatic childhood and adolescence unfolds, the pieces come together to form an indelible portrait of a mother as irresistible as she is impossible, as triumphant as she is transgressive. With spectacular ferocity of language, a streak of dark humor, and stunning emotional bravery, The Book of Mother is an exquisitely wrought story of a mother’s dizzying heights and devastating lows, and a daughter who must hold her memory close in order to surrender, and finally move on.

Things Are Against Us

Author: Lucy Ellmann
Publisher: Galley Beggar Press
ISBN: 1913111210
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 237

Book Description
'There are three kinds of strike I'd recommend: a housework strike, a labour strike, and a sex strike. I can't wait for the first two.' Things Are Against Us is the first collection of essays from Booker Prize-shortlisted Lucy Ellmann. Bold, angry, despairing and very, very funny, these essays cover everything – from matriarchy to environmental catastrophe to Little House on the Prairie. Ellmann calls for a moratorium on air travel, rages against bras, gives Doris Day and Agatha Christie a drubbing, and pleads for sanity in a world that – well, a world that spent four years in the company of Donald Trump, that 'tremendously sick, terrible, nasty, lowly, truly pathetic, reckless, sad, weak, lazy, incompetent, third-rate, clueless, not smart, dumb as a rock, all talk, wacko, zero-chance lying liar'. Things Are Against Us is electric. It's vital. These are essays bursting with energy, and reading them feels like sticking your hand in the mains socket. Lucy Ellmann is the writer we need to guide us through these crazy times.

Valentin Berlinsky

Author: Maria Matalaev
Publisher: Kahn & Averill
ISBN: 9780995757400
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 284

Book Description
Valentin Berlinsky (1925-2008), was a founding member of the Borodin Quartet and its cellist and mainstay for more than six decades. A proud Russian but also a man of compromise, his was a life lived for and through the Borodin Quartet. This book tells his story in his own words, lovingly compiled and edited by his grand-daughter, Maria Matalaev, from his diaries, correspondence and interviews, and his accounts of his close friendships with the likes of Shostakovich and Richter, Rostropovich and Oistrakh. Supplemented by tributes from family and friends, as well as an impressive annexure giving every performance, broadcast and recording made by the Borodin Quartet, this book constitutes one of the most revealing chronicles of Soviet and post-Soviet Russian musical life. In 2005, at the celebrations for both his 80th birthday and the 60th anniversary of the Borodin Quartet, Valentin Berlinsky sat down at a table with his students and said: 'My dears, please, keep going: never leave Russia!'